This Judges 2 is a bonus sermon today...the Fifth Sunday service at First Presbyterian of Pikeville, Kentucky. The sermon is a farewell message for Scott and a challenge to the congregation to be faithful to Jesus and to continue to teach the next generation all that Jesus has commanded us to observe and all that Jesus has done for us and them. The challenge is to keep attending to the means of grace (in particular, the word, sacraments and corporate prayer in Sunday worship). The message focuses on the difference between the situation of Judges and the present because of the coming of Christ the Shepherd and the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost. I should explain as background the motorcycle comment -- Scott drives a motorcycle and likes to say that Jesus will return on a Harley because shepherds in New Zealand drive motorcycles to keep their sheep.

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Labels: christ, David, judges, Saul, shepherd, spirit, Sunday worship

Ezekiel 35:1-36:15 afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted to keep the people of God on the straight and narrow path of Jesus Christ. Here God speaks to the mountains (Mount Seir and the mountains of Israel), representing two different groups of people, a message that points to the final destination of those two groups of people. For one, represented by Esau or Edom, the final destination is a deserted desert. For the other group, represented by the mountains of Israel the destination is the fruitful and full of the faithful new heavens and earth. The passage has two major purposes. First, it serves as a warning for those who may seem like a brother for a time but ultimately prove through their actions, attitude, and words that they are not. And second, it comforts afflicted sinners. Christians should not be comfortable in their sins, their sins should make them upset and troubled (even afflicted), but then the comfort of the gospel message of forgiveness applies. This is good news.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: edom, envy, esau, ezekiel, new creation, warning

Ezekiel 35:1-36:15 afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted to keep the people of God on the straight and narrow path of Jesus Christ. Here God speaks to the mountains (Mount Seir and the mountains of Israel), representing two different groups of people, a message that points to the final destination of those two groups of people. For one, represented by Esau or Edom, the final destination is a deserted desert. For the other group, represented by the mountains of Israel the destination is the fruitful and full of the faithful new heavens and earth. The passage has two major purposes. First, it serves as a warning for those who may seem like a brother for a time but ultimately prove through their actions, attitude, and words that they are not. And second, it comforts afflicted sinners. Christians should not be comfortable in their sins, their sins should make them upset and troubled (even afflicted), but then the comfort of the gospel message of forgiveness applies. This is good news.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: edom, envy, esau, ezekiel, new creation, warning

Ezekiel 34 shows us that we are like sheep in need of Jesus as our shepherd. Answering the most common objection to being compared to sheep -- that sheep are weak and dumb -- I began by offending the congregation by telling them that they are weak and dumb. Then we looked at the themes of accountability and abundance in the passage. Both of these are ways that the gospel is indeed good news for the weak and stupid sheep who depend on God. Let us not muddy the waters or trample the good pasture of others, but let us be accountable to the Chief Shepherd who pours out upon us showers of blessing. It was a blessing to baptize George afterwards.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: abundance, accountability, christ, ezekiel, sheep, shepherd, stupid, weak

Ezekiel 34 shows us that we are like sheep in need of Jesus as our shepherd. Answering the most common objection to being compared to sheep -- that sheep are weak and dumb -- I began by offending the congregation by telling them that they are weak and dumb. Then we looked at the themes of accountability and abundance in the passage. Both of these are ways that the gospel is indeed good news for the weak and stupid sheep who depend on God. Let us not muddy the waters or trample the good pasture of others, but let us be accountable to the Chief Shepherd who pours out upon us showers of blessing.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: abundance, accountability, christ, ezekiel, sheep, shepherd, stupid, weak

Genesis 8:1-3 tells us that God remembered Noah. We looked at this passage in this brief sermonette rather than Ezekiel talking about showers of blessing because of the flooding yesterday. This message shares the gospel in light of these current events. You can see an image of the flood chiasm at http://revmarple.com/teaching/uploaded_images/gen-6.9-9.29-image-734053.bmp.

Click the title or here to listen.

Labels: chiasm, current events, flood, genesis, noah

Genesis 8:1-3 tells us that God remembered Noah. We looked at this passage in this brief sermonette rather than Ezekiel talking about showers of blessing because of the flooding yesterday. This message shares the gospel in light of these current events. You can see an image of the flood chiasm at http://revmarple.com/teaching/uploaded_images/gen-6.9-9.29-image-734053.bmp.

Click the title or here to listen.

Labels: chiasm, current events, flood, genesis, noah

Ezekiel 33 marks a turning point in the book of Ezekiel because of what happens at the center of the chapter -- the destruction of Jerusalem. Up until now, Ezekiel has stressed the bad news and now that the survivor comes and tells us that Jerusalem has been destroyed he shifts his emphasis to the good news. This good news is a message of repentance. After discussing how we like a good sermon but hearing a sermon and doing it are two different things, we looked at how your righteousness will not deliver you when you sin. The Christian lifestyle is one of repentance. You trust in Christ's righteousness and when you sin you turn to Him and away from the sin. This is all because He was the temple of God that was destroyed on the cross for your sins.

Did the portion demonstrating lying on my side &c for the children's message before this sermon, compared to Peter Creek below.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: death, ezekiel, jerusalem, repentance, sermons, sin

Ezekiel 33 marks a turning point in the book of Ezekiel because of what happens at the center of the chapter -- the destruction of Jerusalem. Up until now, Ezekiel has stressed the bad news and now that the survivor comes and tells us that Jerusalem has been destroyed he shifts his emphasis to the good news. This good news is a message of repentance. After discussing how we like a good sermon but hearing a sermon and doing it are two different things, we looked at how your righteousness will not deliver you when you sin. The Christian lifestyle is one of repentance. You trust in Christ's righteousness and when you sin you turn to Him and away from the sin. This is all because He was the temple of God that was destroyed on the cross for your sins.

The audio gets a little softer where I did crazy things like laying down on my side and such.

Click here or the title to listen.

Labels: death, ezekiel, jerusalem, repentance, sermons, sin